Photographers can give you some beautiful photos with wonderful colors, composition, and focus. And that’s a wonderful thing! It takes a lot of knowledge and practice to deliver that consistently.

The most important part of the pictures, though, are the people in it. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if the lighting is too harsh or the background isn’t pretty or the pose is terrible (see photo #1) or there’s a screaming kid in it (see photo #1, again), if the people you love most are in it and it captures them at that time, it can be one of your favorites.

So take lots of photos this summer. There are a lot of fun opportunities to capture your family and friends in this season. Don’t be embarrassed to get in there and demand a group shot. Everyone will be glad that you did.